The Art of Friendship
by BigTimeRush-BTR
Summary: When worries and doubts start to take over the night before they move to LA, the boys are reminded that no matter what happens, together, they are capable of getting through anything.


**Hey, guys. I wrote this one-shot as a part of the friendship challenge from the BTR Plot Adoption Forum. I meant to have this up a lot sooner, but... this took a lot longer than I thought it would, lol. I hope you guys enjoy it, though. :)**

* * *

"Are-are you guys asleep?"

James' voice cuts through the air, earning the attention of the three boys laying beside him. They're laying on Kendall's living room floor, blankets and pillows spread out all around them. It's past two in the morning, and the four of them should be asleep by now, seeing as they have a flight to catch by noon. The problem is, no matter how hard James tries, he can't get his mind to stop racing. His biggest dream is about to come true – he's about to go to LA, to hopefully become a singer, along with his three best friends. It's more than he could have ever hoped for, but his mind won't allow him to succumb to the tiredness that he feels.

He hears shuffling coming from the body to his right, and then feels a shoulder pressed against his own. "Not really," he hears Kendall say as he leans his elbow against his pillow, using the palm of his hand to hold his head up.

"Yeah, I can't really sleep." This time, it's Logan who has spoken from behind Kendall. A second later, he's sitting up and yawning. "I'm tired, but I just... can't stop thinking about tomorrow."

"Me either," Carlos says as he rolls over to face the three of them.

There's a brief silence that settles around the room for a few seconds, before Logan speaks again. "Everything's gonna change... Everything will be different."

"Everything will be okay," Kendall pipes up, rolling over, and placing a hand on Logan's shoulder. "Yes, things will change, things will be different, but we have each other. None of us are alone in this."

"What if things change between us? You know, I've heard of a lot of people who have moved to LA, become famous, and the fame has gone to their head."

"We won't let that happen," Kendall reassures Logan. "We won't forget where we came from."

Logan nods, but he looks unconvinced as he stares forward, not wanting them to see the saddened look that is now present on his face.

"Are you having doubts?" James asks softly as his heart sinks to the pit of his stomach. "Because I... I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with, you know that, right?"

Except he can't picture Logan not going with them to Los Angeles. He can't picture the three of them being all the way in the other side of the country without Logan by their side.

Carlos stands abruptly, kicking the comforter he had been covered with to the side. He walks on shaking legs and takes a seat in front of Logan, his hands moving to hold onto his trembling ones.

"Logie?" He bites down on his bottom lip, a bit worried by the fact that Logan isn't pulling away. He's usually not the kind of person that is comfortable with physical contact, and if this was a normal circumstance, he would've probably pulled his hands out of Carlos' grip by now. But he isn't, he's not even speaking. "I'm scared, too," he whispers. "Scared of things changing, scared of _us_ changing, scared things won't be the way they are now... Scared of leaving my parents behind."

When Carlos mentions his parents, Logan looks up, his eyes growing wet with tears. "Me too," he says so quietly that even Carlos almost misses it.

"Can I hug you?"

Logan nods, his arms winding around Carlos as he scoots closer to him. He shields his face against Carlos' shoulder, tears now running down his cheeks and soaking into the fabric of his shirt. From behind, he feels a hand rub small circles on his back, and then the familiar feeling of Kendall wrapping his arms around the two of them.

"Guys," James speaks up, his voice wavering. "If you guys aren't comfortable with leaving, we don't have to do this."

"It's your dream, James," Carlos says as he gently pulls away from Logan. "Besides, we do want to do this. Or... at least, I know I do." He turns to Logan and Kendall, his eyebrows knitting together in worry. "Do you guys?"

"I do," Kendall says.

"You didn't the other day," James points out. "You didn't even really audition because you said it wasn't your dream. I don't... I don't want to be the reason you guys aren't living your dreams. I don't want to be the one holding you guys back."

"You're not." Logan rubs the heels of his hands against his eyes, ridding himself of the tears that are still present there. "Yes, I'm scared, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to go. I'm just... afraid of change, because we can't foresee the future. But I'm also excited, excited to see where this takes us."

"I am, too," Kendall says, turning to smile first at Carlos and Logan, and then at James. "Sure, it might not be the hockey dream I was envisioning, but... that wasn't gonna happen until after I graduated. Plus, I'm not gonna lie, being part of a boyband sounds pretty cool to me."

"I agree," Carlos says. "Like Kendall said yesterday, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. Opportunities like this don't come often. We should at the very least give it a shot."

"But you guys are okay with that?" James asks, still unsure of whether his friends truly mean what they're saying, or if they're just saying it to make him feel better.

"One hundred percent," Kendall, Logan and Carlos say in unison.

James smiles, settling back against the couch that is behind him. "Okay." His smile then falters as he thinks back on what Logan had previously said. "It is gonna be weird, though, leaving all of this behind. We've had so many memories here..."

"This is where we met," Carlos points out, biting on the inside of his cheek as his eyes wander around the room. "I'm really gonna miss it."

"It's not like we'll never see it again. We'll come back," Kendall points out. "I'm sure we'll come on holidays and special occasions. It isn't goodbye. It's more of a see you later type of thing."

"That's cheesy," Logan says, playfully shoving Kendall with one hand. "But that's true. I think we'll go crazy if we don't spend at least winter here. Can you guys imagine having a Christmas without snow?"

"No... but I'm sure you can. You did live in Texas for eight years of your life," James points out. "Unless your memory's so bad that you don't actually remember any of it."

Logan rolls his eyes and then glares in James' direction. "I do remember, but I've been here for just as long, and considering I do not recall like the first three years of my life, I've become more accustomed to the cold."

"Whatever you say, Logie-bear." Kendall smirks and reaches forward, ruffling Logan's hair and causing the other boy to duck his head. His cheeks have now turned a light pink, a cheeky smile adorning his face.

"My name is Logan, not Logie-bear."

"Actually, your name is Hortense," Carlos points out, scooting away from Logan as he sends daggers in his direction. "What? It's true!"

"My middle name is Logan," Logan mutters through gritted teeth. "I hate being called Hortense."

"Aww, I'm sorry, Logie," Carlos says, poking Logan on the side.

Logan just rolls his eyes at him and pulls his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and resting his head on top of his knees. "It feels like it was forever ago when I moved here," he says after a couple of seconds tick by. "I remember the day my mom and dad told me we'd be moving... I was so upset by the idea."

"Why were you upset?" James asks as he leans towards the other three.

"Because I had a really hard time making friends back in Texas. Kids bullied me. Nobody wanted to be friends with the geeky kid. I thought that if we moved, everything would be even worse. I didn't think anyone would want to be friends with the new kid, but... you guys proved me wrong." As he says this, a smile comes to Logan's face, his mind wandering back to the day he met the three of them.

* * *

 _"You should watch where you're going."_

 _Logan doesn't even get the chance to turn around, before he's being shoved forward with a force that causes him to lose his balance and fall face-first on the dirt near the swing set. He hears the sound of laughter, followed by the squeaking noise of the swing he had previously been sitting on, as it's still rocking back and forth. He doesn't look up, doesn't say a word but listens as the sound of laughter grows distant and eventually vanishes completely._

 _He's not sure how long he stays there, but he assumes it's only seconds as a pair of shoes suddenly appear in his vision, followed by two others soon after. He stays quiet, hoping that whoever it is that has stopped in front of him will get the hint and go away. There are tears slipping down his cheeks and something warm oozing down his nose. He feels just as pathetic as he probably looks, and the last thing he wants is for someone else to see him in this state, or even worse, give him more of a reason to cry._

 _"Hey, are you okay?" The voice isn't menacing, but rather gentle as the kid whom it belongs to kneels down in front of him. He places a hand on Logan's shoulder, causing him to flinch involuntarily. "It's okay, we're not gonna hurt you. I promise."_

 _"We saw what those kids did to you." This voice belongs to someone else, but since Logan hasn't looked up, he's not sure to who. "We wanted to come and help you, but by the time we did, they had already left."_

 _"You're bleeding. Do you wanna go to the nurse's office?"_

 _"We can take you there, if you do. We know you're new and probably don't know where it is."_

 _Nobody speaks as Logan pushes himself into a sitting position using the palms of his hands. He dusts them off on his jeans once he's sitting up, his eyes locked on the ground._

 _"What's your name?" It's the same voice that had spoken the first time, only this time it's quieter and appears more cautious._

 _Logan doesn't respond, so he speaks again._

 _"My name's Kendall." Kendall, as Logan now knows him by, extends a hand forward._

 _Logan feels a knot grow in his throat as he finally looks up, tears clouding his vision. "L-Logan," he chokes out, not taking the offered hand, causing Kendall to awkwardly pull it away._

 _"I'm James," the boy to his left says with a warm smile._

 _"And I'm Carlos," the one to his right says. He appears to be the friendliest of them all, judging by his enthusiastic tone and carefree smile._

 _Logan nervously fiddles with his hands, pressing his lips together into a tight line. The tears have stopped falling, but the lump in his throat hasn't gone away and neither has the ache that seems to be squeezing tightly at his heart._

 _"W-where's the nurse?" he asks finally as he stares at the three boys in front of him._

 _Kendall, James and Carlos smile and push themselves to their feet. Kendall once again extends a hand towards him, and it's with a bit of hesitance and uneasiness that Logan takes the offered hand and allows him to pull him to his feet._

 _"We'll take you, come on."_

 _He feels an arm wind around his shoulders, followed by another hand guiding him forward. He feels nervous around these boys and isn't sure if he can trust them. But their words bring him comfort, which he has never felt around anyone his age before, until now. He's unsure about a lot of things, but he does know in this moment that he hopes that this feeling is permanent and not just temporary._

* * *

"It was the best day of my life," Logan says quietly, his cheeks heating up once more.

"Awww! We love you too, Logie!" Carlos exclaims, throwing his arms around him and wrapping them around him tightly. Logan laughs as Kendall and James join in on the hug, leaving him stuck in the middle.

"Seriously, we wouldn't be the same without you," James whispers in his ear.

"Are you joking? _I_ wouldn't be the same without _you_."

"We know." Kendall grins, his smile widening as Logan rolls his eyes at his remark.

"I gotta get new friends."

"Nah, you love us too much."

"Maybe."

"Definitely."

"I question that some days."

"Of course you—"

Kendall's cut off in the middle of his sentence as footsteps are heard coming from somewhere down the hall. The four of them look up in time to see a small silhouette walk past the living room and into the kitchen.

"Katie?" Kendall calls out as he stands up and makes his way to the kitchen. James, Carlos and Logan turn to look at each other, before following closely behind.

"You guys are still awake?" Katie questions the four as she shuts the refrigerator door, twisting the cap of the water bottle she now has in her hand. "No wonder I kept hearing voices in my sleep. I thought I was just dreaming."

"Were we really being that loud?" Logan asks.

"Kind of." Katie's smirking as she turns to look at them. "Why are you still up?"

Kendall shrugs. "We couldn't really sleep."

"Antsy about tomorrow?"

"Maybe..."

Katie's smirk only grows wider. "I was doing some research on that Palm Woods place Gustavo mentioned earlier," Katie says, referring to the brief meeting they'd had with the music producer the day before, "and apparently all kinds of famous people live there."

"Anyone we might know of?" Carlos asks, his eyes growing wide with excitement.

"I don't think so. Most of the people who live there are famous, but not _that_ famous. They're mostly people who are on the road to becoming famous, I guess you could say."

"That's still pretty cool," Logan says quietly.

"Yeah. But apparently the manager isn't... the nicest person in the world."

"Why not?"

"He's very strict, I guess."

"That'll be fun," James mutters under his breath.

"I bet it will be," Katie says, a grin coming to her face.

"Now don't go getting any ideas," Logan warns her, "and that goes for you two as well." He turns to James and Carlos knowingly, causing their smiles to vanish in an instant.

"You're such a stick in the mud, Logan," Carlos groans as he pushes Logan playfully with his shoulder.

"Do you wanna get us kicked out of there before we can even give this boyband thing a chance?"

"No..."

"Well, then?"

Katie rolls her eyes at the three of them. "Boys," she mutters under her breath as she places her half-empty bottle of water back in the fridge. "Anyway, I'm gonna head to bed," she says, walking past the four of them. "Try not to be too loud."

"No promises." Kendall smirks.

"I mean it."

"We know."

"You better," she says warningly. "Goodnight."

"Night," they all say simultaneously, watching her disappear down the corner.

"Well, she doesn't seem worried," James says as the four of them walk back to the living room. He takes a seat on the couch, with Carlos taking a seat beside him. Logan and Kendall opt to sitting on the floor in front of them.

"I told you guys there's nothing to worry about," Kendall says, turning to look at Logan, and then up at James and Carlos. "Everything will be fine."

"But what if we don't make it?" James asks, his heart hammering in his chest. It was the question that had been running through his mind ever since Gustavo had decided to take all four of them to LA, instead of just Kendall. It was the question he had been dying to ask since then, but had been too scared to. "What if Gustavo regrets picking us? I mean, none of us really have any singing experience."

"James, you've been singing since you were little," Carlos points out. "You used to drive us crazy."

" _Used_ to?" Logan asks, raising an eyebrow at the two.

"Jerk." James mutters as he crosses his arms over his chest. He's frowning, but within seconds, the frown on his face turns into a smile.

"You were always so good, though," Logan says in a soft tone.

"I wasn't that good..."

"Are you kidding? You are so talented, James. You have _always_ been talented," Kendall chimes in.

James' smile vanishes, his gaze moving to his lap. "He didn't think so," he says, almost in a whisper. He'd be lying if he said that having Gustavo pick Kendall over him hadn't hurt. Kendall hadn't even auditioned, and yet, he had somehow gotten the attention of the music producer.

For as long as he could remember, James' dream had been to someday become a singer. Having Gustavo tell him that he didn't have the fire that he was looking for had brought his hopes crashing down. It had left him feeling hollow, as well as a bit jealous towards Kendall, but he had gotten over that quite quickly. However, there was a small part of him that wished he hadn't been rejected so quickly, or that Gustavo at least hadn't been so cruel with his words.

"So what? That was one person's opinion of you," Carlos says. " _We_ think you're amazing. Millions of people all around the world will think you're amazing."

"You really think so?"

"We know so," Kendall says as he places a hand on James' knee. "You have so much potential. You do have a fire in you... don't allow one person to diminish it."

"I won't." James grins, feeling a weight being lifted from his shoulders. "Thanks, guys. You've always believed in me, even when I had a hard time believing in myself. It means more than you'll ever know."

"We'll always believe in you, Jay," Carlos says with a smile. He pokes James' leg with his toes, his smile only growing wider as James turns to look at him.

"Thanks, Los," James whispers, though the smile on his face grows dim once the words have slipped past his lips. He pulls at a lose string on his shirt sleeve, his gaze moving towards it and away from Carlos. "Kinda reminds me of the eighth grade talent show."

"The eighth grade talent show?" Kendall asks, confusion written all over his face.

James nods as he grabs a pillow from the couch and hugs it to his chest, letting out a small sigh.

* * *

 _"They're not coming."_

 _His voice is shaky as he utters the words out loud. He has his cellphone pressed against his ear as he sits backstage, a knot in the back of his throat. He feels the tears before they even start falling; feels the dread in his chest slowly form into an ache that seems to be pulling at his heart strings. He's been pacing for what feels like hours but could have only been minutes, hands shaking, head spinning._

 _"What do you mean they're not coming?" comes the reply from Carlos on the other end._

 _James leans his back against a wall, sinking until he's sitting on the floor, and pulls his knees up to his chest. He wraps one of his arms around them and blinks rapidly, willing himself not to cry._

 _"Dad doesn't have the time, apparently, and Mom had to take an extra shift at work because one of her employees is out on vacation and another one got sick and couldn't make it to work today... Which means they are short-handed."_

 _"Oh. I'm so sorry, James," Carlos says. "I know how much you'd been looking forward to this."_

 _"I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up." He can't hide the shakiness in his voice or the sadness that hangs from every word that slips past his lips. "It's fine, I'm fine."_

 _"Are you sure...?"_

 _"Yeah, I'm fine." But he's not, he's really not. He should be used to this. After all, his father never has any time for him anymore. He hasn't had any time for him since he walked out on him and his mother and left off to marry another woman. And his mom, even though she tries to be there, often fails at doing so._

 _He can hear Carlos sighing on the other side. "You're gonna be great," he says after a few seconds. "There's no doubt in my mind about that."_

 _"Thanks, Los," he hears himself say. He stands on shaking legs, using the wall for support, and walks towards the backstage mirrors. He tries his best to ignore the looks being sent in his direction from left and right, from the other students that are backstage, and takes a seat on one of the chairs there. He runs a hand through his hair in frustration, then using his free hand to get rid of the tear tracks that are now present on his face._

 _"No problem, buddy. I gotta go, but I'll talk to you later, okay?"_

 _"Okay. I gotta get ready anyway. The show's about to start."_

 _"Good luck," Carlos says. "I'll see ya later."_

 _"See you," James whispers before hanging up and closing his phone. He glances at his reflection in the mirror, taking in his red-rimmed eyes, flushed cheeks and somber appearance. There's this thought that crosses his mind – a voice telling him to walk out and not participate in the talent show, because there's no point if his mom and dad aren't going to be there to see him perform. He wants to listen to it, wants to give in, but then he thinks about all the time he's spent singing in his bedroom, practicing in front of his best friends, joyful and determined to be the best he can be, and that thought is pushed to the back of his mind._

I can do this _, he tells himself as he reaches for his lucky comb he's carrying in his pocket and runs it through his hair. He repeats those same four words over and over in his head, hoping that if he says them enough, he will eventually start to believe them._

 _"Next up is James Diamond, who will be singing a song for us!"_

 _James swallows hard as the voice from the announcer is heard from the stage. He stands, his legs feeling like jello and his breath catching in his throat._

You can do this, you can do this, you can do this.

 _"You can do this," he says aloud, before pushing the dark-green curtains that lead to the stage to the side, and walking out._

 _His heart stops as soon as he steps foot into the spotlight. He knew people were coming, but what he wasn't expecting was for the whole auditorium to be full._

 _He spots the microphone in the middle of the stage and walks towards it, gripping it in between the palms of his hands. He feels dizzy all of a sudden, his vision going hazy, causing the audience in front of him to become one giant blur of people._

 _He sways on his feet, his hold on the microphone becoming even stronger._

 _"H-hi." He cringes internally as he hears himself stutter. "My name is James... James Diamond. And I'll be performing, uh..._ The Tracks of My Tears _b-by Smokey Robinson."_

 _He waits for the music to start playing, his heart practically hammering in his ears as his anxiety grows by the second. He tries to keep his gaze away from the audience, as he's sure it will only make him feel even worse, but the task is impossible to do so. His eyes move from his feet to the people in front of him, and that's when he sees them. His parents aren't there, but sitting in three seats towards the middle are Carlos, Logan and Kendall. All of them are smiling in his direction. Carlos is holding up a small poster that says, "Go James!" in giant red letters, and Logan and Kendall wave at him as soon as they see him look in their direction._

 _He suddenly feels like crying all over again, only this time it's not out of sadness but out of joy. However, he can't, seeing as he's standing in front of at least two hundred other people and the music is now starting, which means he has to swallow down his emotions and start singing._

 _And that is exactly what he does._

 _He starts singing, quietly but with more confidence as he begins to reach the chorus of the song. When he's finished, he looks out into the audience and everyone is cheering and clapping – cheering and clapping_ for him _._

 _He goes backstage once his performance is over, and not a minute later, he's surrounded by three excited faces._

 _"I told you you'd be great!" Carlos exclaims as he launches himself towards him, his arms wrapping tightly around his neck. James grins as he hugs him back, his eyes on Logan and Kendall, who have huge smiles of their own spread on their faces_

 _"You were amazing, James," Kendall tells him, hugging him once Carlos has pulled away._

 _"You really were," Logan agrees. "You blew that audience away."_

 _"You guys really think so?"_

 _"Definitely," they all say together._

 _"They loved you," Carlos adds._

 _And for once, James actually believes it._

* * *

"You guys have always pushed me to be the best that I can be. And that means the world to me," James says softly, looking at the three boys surrounding him.

Logan, who is sitting with one of his arms leaning against the couch and his head resting against it, smiles up at him. "Anytime, James."

"You should get some sleep," James says, taking in the other boy's tired expression. His eyes are half-closed, speech is slow, and he looks as if he's about to pass out right on the spot.

"But I'm not _that_ tired," Logan insists, though it's only a couple of seconds later that he starts to yawn. "Okay, maybe I'm a little tired..."

"Ya think?" Kendall smirks. He grabs a dark blue blanket that had been discarded by James earlier and places it over Logan's shoulders. "Go to bed, Logie."

Logan glares in Kendall's direction but grabs the blanket with both hands and tightens it around himself. "What about the three of you?"

"We'll go to bed soon," Kendall says, turning to James and Carlos, who unlike Logan, appear to be wide awake.

Logan shrugs before grabbing his pillow from earlier and laying down, facing away from the three of them so that his back was to them.

"One down, three to go," Carlos says with a smile.

"I hope he can actually sleep now," James says, his eyes glossing over with unmasked worry and guilt. His eyes remain glued to Logan, until he feels a hand wrap around his wrist. Staring back at him when he turns is Kendall, whose expression he can hardly make out due to the lack of light in the room.

"He'll be fine," Kendall whispers.

James smiles, though it feels forced, insincere, and not at all convincing. He's sure that it does nothing to soothe Kendall's worries. He swallows and nods wordlessly, until the words "I hope so" stumble from his lips a moment later.

For about a minute, everything goes quiet. James is sitting with his hands on his lap, rubbing his fingers together nervously. Kendall is still sitting on the floor, his back against the bottom part of the couch, head leaning all the way back so that it's resting against the couch cushion. And Carlos is curled in on himself, deep in thought, until he breaks the silence.

"I love you guys," Carlos blurts out all of a sudden, catching James and Kendall a bit off guard.

"We love you too, Los." James smiles over at him, his smile now wider than before.

"I was just thinking about what you said." Carlos pauses to gesture with his head in James' direction. "About how we've always been there for you, and it's just... you've all been there for me, too."

"Ditto," Kendall says.

"It reminded me of how terrible things were at the beginning of high school, with all the bullies that would go after me on a daily basis."

"I remember that," James says quietly. He shifts where he's sitting, propping his elbows on his lap to lean towards Carlos. "They were idiots."

"That they were," Kendall agrees, his expression turning cold.

"You didn't have to go after them, but you did."

"You're our best friend and we love you. We weren't about to let them hurt you any more than they already had."

"Yeah... I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner. I should have."

"You were scared," James reminds him. "They threatened you. They made you scared to tell us."

"I didn't want them to hurt any of you..." Carlos says quietly, almost in a whisper, his eyes filling with tears at the memory.

* * *

 _"So, you told on us, huh?"_

 _Carlos freezes just as he's stuffing his math textbook into his locker. He hadn't seen them coming, hadn't even heard them, until they were standing all around him, surrounding him, leaving him no room to escape._

 _The textbook is smacked out of his hand, causing it to fall to the ground in an awkward position, with some of the pages bent in on themselves. He has no time to pay attention to that, though, as hands suddenly take ahold of his wrists, forcing his arms behind his back. He lets out a small cry of pain as fingernails dig into his skin._

 _"I-I-I'm sorry!" he cries out, before his locker is closed shut and the hands holding his arms back push him forward. His head makes a sickening noise as it collides with the metal in front of him._

 _"We told you not to tell anyone," another voice growls in his ear. This boy's so close to him that he can actually feel his breath on his skin. A cold chill runs down Carlos' spine as tears start to form in his eyes._

 _How he wishes he hadn't stayed after school for tutoring. How he wishes there were more people around to see and help him._

 _Within seconds, he is pushed to the ground. A sob escapes his lips as the left side of his face hits the tiled floor, causing him to momentarily see stars. A kick is delivered to his stomach soon after that, robbing his lungs of air. The punches come soon after, followed by more kicks that don't stop until the bullies finally back off, satisfied with the damage they have caused._

 _"Maybe that'll teach ya."_

 _He groans as he attempts to push himself to his feet minutes later. Every bone in his body seems to ache, his ribs especially. He's pretty sure he now has a black eye and a busted lip, but there's not much he can do about that. So instead of going home, where he will surely be bombarded with questions by his parents, he walks the short distance to Kendall's house, where he knows Logan and James are as well._

 _Despite how short the distance is, it takes him almost half an hour to get there, due to having to stop quite a few times to catch his breath._

 _When he gets there, he rings the doorbell, forcing his tears back until the door opens, revealing all three of them._

 _He collapses into Kendall's arms, bloody and bruised and broken, tears now streaming down his face. The next minutes are a blur, but the boys don't ask him questions until he's ready; until the blood on his face is gone, for the most part, and he's finally attempted to calm himself down._

 _It's not until then that he tells them everything, the words coming out in a jumbled up mess that hardly makes sense even to him. He doesn't miss the angry expression on Kendall's face, or the way James' hands tighten into fists, or the look of concern that takes over Logan's features._

 _"Don't worry, buddy. It'll all be okay," James says, so softly that Carlos almost misses it. "We'll take care of them. We'll protect you."_

 _"I-I don't want you to get hurt," Carlos stutters out, feeling nauseous at the thought alone._

 _"We won't," Kendall says. "But you won't be getting hurt either."_

 _"Kendall's right," Logan pipes up. "We're not just gonna stand around and do nothing while they keep hurting you. You don't deserve that, and they don't deserve to get away with it."_

 _And true to their word, after they'd found out, the boys had done everything they could to protect Carlos from the bullies that were going after him. And it was thanks to them that they had never again tried to hurt Carlos or lay a hand on him._

* * *

"Thank you for that," Carlos says, wiping away a stray tear that had managed to make its way down his cheek. "I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you guys enough for that."

"That's what we're here for," Kendall whispers as he rises from the floor and takes a seat beside Carlos on the couch. He wraps one of his arms around Carlos' shoulders, pulling him to his side. He feels Carlos' hair tickle the side of his face as he moves his head to rest against Kendall's shoulder.

"Yeah, we'll always have your back, Litos," James says.

'Thank you,' Carlos mouths, his eyes closing shut.

Kendall leans his head against his tufts of hair, his hold on Carlos tightening.

"And yours, too," James adds, looking directly at Kendall.

Kendall ducks his head, a smile coming to his face. He pushes Carlos back onto the couch, tucking in a blanket around him once he realizes that he was practically falling asleep on him.

"Goodnight, buddy," he softly says, before turning around to face James again. "And thank you."

"Thank me? Thank _you_. Because of you, we're going to LA. Because of _you_ , my dream is coming true."

"James..."

"No, save it. I know what you're gonna say. You're gonna say that it's no big deal, that's it's nothing, but Kendall... it's everything."

Kendall opens his mouth, as if about to speak, but it takes him a few minutes to get the words out.

"You guys are my family," Kendall says. "The four of you, you're my family. I'd do anything for you. You've all done so much for me, so much more than I can put into words."

"I haven't really—"

"Are you kidding me?" Kendall scoots closer to James, as to not disturb Carlos, until their knees are touching. "You were there when my dad died and every day after that for over a month. And even when you couldn't be there every day, you always made sure to ask me how I was doing. You never left, you were always there."

"We were worried."

Kendall's quiet for a moment, before asking, "About me?"

James bites on his bottom lip and nods his head. "You were just... you were so sad."

"I know," Kendall whispers, his heart aching at the thought.

* * *

 _"Kendall, honey, the boys are here."_

 _Kendall's was laying on his bed, with his back to his door. It is where he had been laying all day, not feeling well enough to go to school. He hadn't felt well enough to get out of bed that morning, much less to put on a smile and face everyone at school. His heart hurt too much, and putting on a smile was now an incredibly difficult task._

 _"Kendall?"_

 _Kendall closes his eyes, hoping James, Carlos and Logan will believe he is actually asleep, but as he feels a weight dip his mattress, he realizes they aren't going to be convinced that easily._

 _"We missed you at school today," James says quietly. "We were worried about you."_

 _"You have nothing to worry about," he blurts out finally, though he still doesn't move from the position he's in._

 _"You know that's not true." Logan's voice is almost as quiet as a mouse when he speaks. "We know you're sad, and we know there's little we can do to make you feel better, but we wanna be here for you."_

 _"Yeah, no one deserves to deal with something like this alone," Carlos says._

 _Kendall sighs and turns around, immediately feeling self-counscious under their gaze. He pushes himself to sit up on the bed, his eyes locking on his navy blue bed sheets._

 _"I'm sorry. I hate worrying you. I hate worrying anyone. I appreciate you guys coming over, I really do, but I just..." He stops, blinking rapidly when tears build up in his eyes. "I really don't feel like myself today." He swallows and looks up at them. "I haven't felt like myself ever since... ever since the crash."_

 _"You don't have to act like your normal self around us," James tells him. "If you're not okay, you're not okay. You can be sad, you can be angry. We'll love you either way."_

 _"We brought movies," Carlos says, holding up a bag with DVDs in it. "Spider-Man, since we know you love those."_

 _"And we brought chocolates and candy, too." Logan grins as he places his own bag of goodies on the bed. "If you don't want us around, we'll leave, but we thought it might help."_

 _Kendall rubs at his eyes and looks down at the bag of candy, then up at all three of them. "You can stay," he says, finally. "Thank you. Not just for today, but every other day you've been here for me. I... don't know what I'd do without you guys."_

 _It's not long after that that the four of them are huddled together on Kendall's bed, movie playing and candy and chocolate wrappers spread out all around them. And sure, he may not be okay, but he has his best friends by his side, and that somehow makes things better._

* * *

"I truly don't know what I would have done without you guys after what happened with my dad."

James smiles sadly, taking Kendall's hands in his own and intertwining their fingers together. "I love you," he breathes out, letting go of Kendall's hands and instead wrapping his arms around him in a hug.

Kendall follows his actions, his arms wrapping around James as he shields his face against the crook of his neck. "I love you, too."

"We should go to bed," James whispers when he pulls back. "It's almost four in the morning. We have to be up in like four hours."

Kendall nods, his gaze moving to Logan, who's asleep on the floor, and then to Carlos, who is now curled in on himself, his mouth hanging slightly open.

Kendall moves off of the couch, grabs a pillow, which he passes to James, and then grabs another for himself as well as a blanket. "You ready for tomorrow?" he asks, peering up at James from where he's now laying next to Logan.

"Not one bit," James admits. "But hey, it's the only life we've got, so we gotta live it big time, right?"

Kendall chuckes, grabs a pillow that's at arm's reach, and tosses it in James' direction, though it misses him by a couple of inches.

"Better luck next time," James says with a grin.

"Goodnight, Jay."

"Night, Kendall."

And with that being said, the two close their eyes and drift off to sleep.

* * *

 **I'm not too sure about the ending, but I hope it sounded okay. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed. :)**


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